Mike's Bloggity Blog

Check out the amazing cover for the new Pinups for Pink 2011 calendar. Recognize the cover girl?  Yup, that is Being Erica’s Erin Karpluk looking STUNNING!  Wowza.  She is worth the $28 for the calender alone.

100% of the proceeds generated from the smokin’ hot calendar will be donated to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. In addition to Karpluk, the calendar features some of Vancouver biggest rising starts including Erin Ireland, ET Canada’s Erin Cebula, Shaw TV’s Fiona Forbes and Olympian Ashleigh McIvor.

If you ever struggle with trying to find a Christmas gift with meaning, I think this just might be it.

Click here to order your calendar!

Tonight CBC’s Being Erica makes its big move to Wednesday night.  It’s a big move because, when it comes to ratings, Being Erica is turning into being a problem for the CBC.

A few weeks ago the show dipped to a dangerously not good 362,000 viewers. In comparison, Glee was airing at the same time as Being Erica and was easily pulling in more than two million gleeks.  While the two shows can’t really be compared, it certainly doesn’t help make a case for keeping Erica Strange around for too much longer.

For me the show has never been better.  While TV critic Bill Brioux disagrees, I think the show has finally found its footing and like LOST doesn’t need to explain everything, just as long as you happy to enjoy the ride.  The problem is that the show has become so involved and a little complicated, that it is extremely difficult to pick up new viewers.  Last week’s “Previously on Being Erica” seemed to go on for about five minutes.

Everyone knows that there is no bigger fan of Being Erica than me.  In its three short seasons I think it has showed that Canadian writers can make different kinds of shows that include a mixture of women-friendly program with a dash of sci-fi.

Being Erica has never been the rating success that it should have been.  But either was Friday Night Lights and even that got five seasons.  Let’s all do our part to make sure Being Erica stays exactly where it is!

Being Erica airs tonight on CBC.

Being Erica‘s third season premiere just finished and what did I tell you, was it shocking or was it SHOCKING?  We found out what was behind the door (group therapy!), Erica got a new office (goblins), a new crush (Adam!) and someone doesn’t think Dr. Tom is doing a very good job (Nadia!). Bet you didn’t see that stuff coming!?

If there is one thing that Being Erica is good at it is covering a lot of ground in 43 minutes.  So to help explain a little more about the episode, I asked series-star Erin Karpluk to help break it down!

Now what we know what is behind the green door.  What did you think was going to be behind the last season’s big mystery?!
Oh gosh!  I was just so curious what they would write.   Part of me was like, “Is it just a rabbit hole and just falls for eternity?” And unless we got cancelled, that wouldn’t be very exciting.  I was wondering if there was going to be a development in time-travel but when I got the script, I was like, “Aha!  There we go!”

We found out that she is now in phase 2 of therapy and that phase 3 of therapy is becoming a doctor. Think you’re ready?
I don’t think Erica is anywhere near ready to be a doctor!  That I know for sure! She has no right giving advice to someone…yet. She’s getting there and if it is the grand scope of things, it’s not going to happen this season.

Erica got to visit a new character’s past.  Adam seem to have a lot of stuff going on, what can you tell us about him?
Adam (Adam Fitzpatrick) is definitely that masculine part that we’ve brought to the show.   He’s got a very assertive energy that balances out Erica.  He really challenges Erica.  He is going through therapy himself and he has a darker past, more like Dr. Tom.  Him and Erica are very different but they learn a lot from each other.  And as we saw in the first episode, they get to go back into each other’s past and help each other.   It is kinda like field trips.

Would you say Adam in the new Kai?
Hmmmm.  Yup.  I would say that.

Things changed for Erica pretty much right away.  How she’s handling it?
The huge thing in the premiere was Erica’s bewilderment that Dr. Tom has other patients.   There is a certain amount of resentment and jealously in thinking she is the only one.  Then she walks into this room and sees that Dr. Tom has been doing these treatments with other people.  The whole episode was really about expressing yourself fully, which I think we really saw in Erica as it progressed.

What can you tell us about the other people in in group therapy with you?
Rebecca (Melanie Scrofano) has been there the longest.  She was an actress who didn’t make and now she owns a clothing store in Kensington.  Jeff’s (Fab Fabrizio) character is a little of a science nerd, a little bit quieter.  He’s been there quite a while.  Camilla (Kim Roberts) is bus driver who was an alcoholic who almost ran a bus into a pole.  And then Adam came from a violent background and now he is a gardener.

What’s group therapy been like so far?
It really reminds me a lot of being in an acting class, you know where you put your trust into everyone and you having your acting teacher.   This adds a lot of different levels to it and it’s nice to have other people to go back with, now we have all these people.

Dear Being Erica fans,

This is possibly the hardest review I’ve ever had to write.  Why?  Because I don’t know how to tell you a single thing about the show’s third season premiere without spoiling it.  Seriously.  The show takes such a drastic turn in the first five minutes, that it makes it impossible to review without ruining the whole surprise.

But what I can tell you is that Being Erica is still great. Especially, now it is infused with some Inception-like confusingness (new word?), which makes the show even more exciting. As with every season it has completely transformed itself and now has the possibility for so many new and different story lines.  Erin Karpluk has amazing control of her role as Erica and can perfectly adapt to comedy, action and drama.  I’m still upset about her missing Gemini nomination.  If CBC was smart, they’d send this episode in for consideration next year.

And that’s pretty much all I can tell you. Maybe we’ll talk more after you’ve all seen it.  I’d love to know what you think. Oh and fans of Julianne will be happy, she’s all over this episode like me to a McLobster.

Favourite line of the episode: “Looks like Fraggle Rock, sounds like Queer as Folk.”

EXCLUSIVE: Make sure you check back after tonight’s episode.  I’ll have a brand new exclusive interview with Erin Karpluk about the season premiere!!!

One of my favourite shows from last season comes to DVD today.

Look, it is no secret that I love Being Erica.  Sometimes I’ve even been suspected of being someone from the show, who writes this blog solely to promote the show.  Trust me, I wish I was getting paid to write about Being Erica. I really am just a fan of this great show.

If you’ve never watched an episode of Being Erica, the second season is a great place to start.  The second time around Erica, played perfectly by Erin Karpluk, is a different woman.  She has the man of her dreams, she’s a superstar at work and she’s found a great new place to have coffee.  Seems insignificant, but it is not.  This season also introduces us the back-story of Dr. Tom and the mysterious Kai, who changes Erica’s world forever.

And that’s what is great about Being Erica.  It could very easily be about a single woman trying to make it in the big city, but the show and its characters are so much layered than that.  In a way, it is sort of like Lost.   There’s time travel, there’s mystery (what’s behind the door?!?!) and yes, both have featured cast memebers of Degrassi. Seriously, what more could you want?

The three DVD-set is a perfect way of getting your feet wet before the show’s third season starts on September 21st.

Days after the Emmys, Canadian’s attention have now turned towards our own television sets with the Geminis!  Don’t sigh, the Geminis are cool. No really, seriously, stop rolling your eyes.  It is the Geminis people!

This year the Geminis are celebrating their 25th anniversary in Toronto by announcing hundreds of nominees in dozens of categories all having to do with Canadian television productions.

Click here to read the entire list of nominees.

But with so many nominations, I thought I break some down for you.

Being Erica (Six nominations)
My fave series about our dearest little time-traveller should be really happy with their six nominations including for Best Male Actor Michael Riley.  But the most shocking bit of news is that last year’s winner Erin Karpluk didn’t get nominated!!!  Uhh…what?  I nearly spit out my Honey Nut Cheerios when I read this!  Seriously shocked. Obviously this is a huge mistake.  You should expected the nominations to be retracted any minute….right?  RIGHT?!?!  (Single tear.)

Melinda Shankar from Much’s Degrassi scored a nominated for Best Performance in a Children’s Program…but not for Degrassi. She is also the star of How To Be Indie and that’s what she got nominated for!  With her nomination, we should now officially have her on lock-down so the CW can’t steal another one of our actresses.

Poor Jay Onrait.  One the funniest broadcasters was nominated for Best Sportscaster/Anchor but he’ll face some heavy competition from my secret best friend Brian Williams who pretty much should have gotten his own gold medal for his coverage of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.  But what is working for Onrait is that he has an awesome twitter account.  That has to count for something.

The awards will be handed out on November 13th.

In celebration of Being Erica Season 2 DVD release next week (September 14th), I’m more than happy to be giving away two copies of this amazing Canadian series.  You hear that Lindsay Blackett?  A show that is far from shit!

You’ll remember that this is the season that Erica met the mysterious Kai, her relationship with Ethan reached a boiling point and we found out a LOT more about Dr. Tom.

So how do you win them?

Two ways:
1) Check out my brand-new exclusive interview with Erin Karpluk about Season 3 and tell me which part of the new season you most excited about! Leave your answer in the comments!
2) Tweet the following message:  “Being Erica Season 2 comes out on DVD September 14th.  But I want it now from @mikesbloggity! http://ow.ly/2xeXZ
”

Contest closes September 8th at 11:59PST.  You can enter both ways, but only once each way.  That sounds more confusing than I mean it. Essentially you can enter a total of two times.

Good luck!

It is not secret that Being Erica finished its second season with the mother of all cliffhangers….would it come back for a third season.  Luckily CBC did the right thing and renewed the most buzzed about show in Canada.  Sure the ratings have never been through the roof, but the show is good and has lots of story to tell.  Me and all of Being Erica’s fans were relieved that CBC felt the same way.

A couple of week ago, I got the chance to visit the set and chat with Being Erica’s star Erin Karpluk.  It was during this interview that Erin spilled a lot of secrets about the upcoming third season.  Check out what Erin has to say about returning characters, this season’s big changes and why she doesn’t want Erica to have a happy ending!

So many people wanted Being Erica to be renewed for a third season, but it wasn’t a sure thing. What were your thoughts leading into this season?
You know what, I was hopelessly optimistic. Based on things that you here through the grapevine. But I always have a little safety-guard on myself from previous experiences. And I like to be a realist and prepare for the worst and if it does happen, then I’m somewhat prepared for it. But obviously it is doing great on CBC and SoapNet and we’ve been picked up by over thirty countries, so we were hoping we’d get another shot at it.

Despite all the buzz, the ratings for Being Erica have never been through the roof. Are there things that we can expect in hopes of brining in bigger ratings?
Honestly we just keep wanting to better and better and better. But this year it feels there is more of masculinity to it. It kinda got “man-ed up” a little bit. It just isn’t a show for girls.

How so?
Certainly by the new characters that are introduced. With the last two seasons, the first halves always felt like we were warming up to the second half, but the third season just starts off with a bang! And it is a darker Being Erica. I don’t want to offput people who might think it is a different show, there is still comedy but the writers have gone darker.

Is it harder to play darker?
I prefer to play the comedic beat, but that said, Erica is a really well-rounded character and the highs come with the lows. It is definitely a balance, the darker we go, the lighter we go too and it pushes the envelop more. I think some of this year’s storylines will shock people, but in a good way, much like in the past.

Will there be lots of big changes this year?
Goblins is still around, the coffee is really good. There will be renovations to the shop too. And we get to meet Dave who has a business partner and significant other and it leads to a lot of comedy.

A huge aspect of the show is Erica’s family. What can we expect from the Strange family this year!
We just finished an episode about Leo. Yup Leo is back! And it isn’t like the first season finale. I’ve made amends with the death of my brother, there is no way you could tie that into a new show. So we are doing one with Leo and it is a little darker, but it helps Erica answer some questions about her brother’s struggles in school. It is very intense but I think people will identify with it. And we get a lot more into Barbara Strange and my sister Samantha. But there are some dark things that happen to Erica’s family that brings us together.

And how about Erica’s new business with Julianne?
Business is good. They are still struggling to make her way up in the world. But at least she is in a better place then she was.

And what about Brent?
Yup Brent will be back! I love working with Morgan Kelly!

Ethan and Erica have finally broken up, have we seen the last of him?
There will be a whole episode devoted to Ethan! But that doesn’t necessarily mean that he is in it either. And Clare comes back too. There are some pretty cool things that happen between Claire and Erica.

Will Erica find love this season?
I think so. Where just getting to the point in the season where I’m like: “Where is this going!?!” I don’t have the scripts yet, but it is nice to her single because she hasn’t been single for the past two seasons.

What’s the fan reaction been like in the States?
I haven’t had as much time down there as I would like. But the ones I’ve had are very similar to Canada. But what I didn’t realize was that a lot of the show is edited. A lot of the more risqué stuff is chopped out. It is a lot tamer there. The bad words and of course the orgasm in the canoe were all cut out. There is going to be a lot of stuff they’ll have to edit this year too!

Heaven forbid this is the last season. What do you think will happen to Erica?
I hope it is not happily ever after, because it never is in real life. I’m not saying that to be pessimistic. But we have highs and lows in life and there is good days and there is bad days and it is what we choose to do with those obstacles that come in our way. I would love to see Erin fall in love and have children. We just a scene where she wonders if she could see children in her life. And I think that is a question that we all ask ourselves. Especially our generation.

Being Erica’s third season premieres September 21st.  To catch up on the show, picked up the season two DVDs on September 14th.

While I’ve made no secret about how well I think CBC has been doing the past couple of seasons, I’m excited to see that a LOT of americans will soon be seeing so many of our great products too!

In the upcoming 2010-2011 television season, the Canadian network will be all over the states like me to a McLobster.  In case you don’t know, that a lot!

CBC’s biggest hit is Heartland and when it makes its USA debut this fall, it will be available in more than 94% of american homes. CBS, Tribune, Sinclair, Hearst and Lin station groups have all acquired the rights to air the show that is filmed here in Alberta. I’m a little nervous about how the story of a teenage horse whisperer will transfer to the States, but if the media gets behind the family friendly show, it should be able to find happier trails.  (Get it, see what I did there?)

Steven and Chris will also have to make sure their passports are updated when they start their american media tour.  Their show, aptly named Steven and Chris will be making it’s american debut this fall too.  The home-decorating gurus will debut in 30 U.S. markets, including San Francisco, Sacramento, Pittsburgh and Indianapolis.  Not bad for a show that was canceled and then brought back by CBC just a few seasons ago!

And of course I can’t forget about shows like Being Erica and 18 to Life that have already made really successful transitions to Obama-world.

And if Men With Brooms looks as funny as the trailer, CBC should be able to find success on both sides of the border!

Hi calendar,

Can it please be September 14th?  I don’t think I can wait another month for Being Erica season 2 to be on DVD. It has been a long and hard 2010 and me (and everyone else) needs some more Karpluk in our lives ASAP.  Plus the DVD is going to feature a lot of extras like bloopers, deleted scenes and Erica’s hilarious weblogs.

And let’s be honest, no one really likes August anyway.

Thanks,

Mike